This invention relates to machines for winding armatures for electric motors and the like. In particular, this invention relates to winding guides that are used to guide the wire leaving a flyer so that the wire is aligned and deposited within slots of the armature stack, and to apparatus for facilitating changing of the flyer which dispenses wire coming from a supply reel.
Winding guides have been used in the past to guide wire leaving a flyer such that the wire becomes aligned and deposited within the slots of the armature stack. More particularly, the wire leaving the rotating flyer is caught by such guides and runs on their appropriately configured and machined surfaces to reach alignment with the slot entrances where the coils need to be wound. Following the alignment, the wire is drawn into the slots where it is deposited as a portion of the coil. Examples of such winding guides have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,257,745 and 4,579,291, both assigned to the assignee of this application and hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The above-described winding guides have a relatively complex spatial configuration, particularly since their configuration is governed by the configuration of the armature that needs to be wound. Consequently, designing of the winding guides of the prior art requires dedicated trial and error.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide solutions for simplifying the complex spatial configuration of winding guides.
It is another object of the invention to provide solutions for avoiding the configuration of the winding guide to be dependent on the configuration of the armature that needs to be wound.
It is another object of the invention to reduce the manual adaptations which need to be accomplished for manufacturing winding guides.
It is another object of the invention to reduce the geometrical extent of the winding guide, thereby reducing the amount of wire running on the guide surface.
It is another object of the invention to provide solutions for obtaining the best winding position for winding armatures.
It is another object of the invention to improve the operation required to connect the coil leads to the tangs of the commutator.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the invention by providing a system for simplifying the design of winding guides.
According to the principles of the invention, a support member acts as a reference surface to maintain the position of the armature during winding. The support member impedes lateral deflection of the armature.
The flyer arm of the winder built in accordance with the principles of this invention is positioned so that the extreme delivery point of the wire is aligned and practically over the slots of the armature where the coil is being wound. This is in direct contrast with the flyer arms of the prior art. In the prior art, the flyer arm was positioned away from the armature being wound and traditional guide surface were utilized to capture the wire from a far away position. Accordingly, only simple guide structures need to be employed to maintain wire alignment with the opening of the slots.
Additionally, in accordance with the principles of this invention, the flyer arm can be easily and quickly substituted on the winder in accordance with the armature being wound, ensuring that the extreme delivery point of the wire is aligned and practically over the slots of the armature where the coil is being wound. This feature of the invention contributes to a simpler design of the winding guide.
Accordingly, traditional guide surfaces for capturing the wire coming from a distant position are no longer required. Instead, a simplified guide surface is used in accordance with the principles of this invention.
The guide structure built in accordance with the principles of the invention has a leading surface that maintains the alignment of the wire with the opening of the slot. The flyer arm is positioned with respect to the guide structure in such a manner that the wire is slightly deflected against. This deflection maintains the alignment of the wire with the position of the flyer as well as the slot of the armature being wound, enabling a more secure deposition of wire in the slots.